This is a place to read what I think about various books and to give your own opinions about books. I am a plain-spoken person but this is not the place for any hurtful words. Being hurtful accomplishes nothing for anyone.

The Hierophant's Daughter Interview

rate, but I
think everybody has moments where we wish we were born into different
circumstances. My family, like most families, can be a little dysfunctional.
One of the reasons I wrote The Hierophant’s Daughter was to deal with that, and my place with respect to that family now
that I’m a totally different adult from the kid I was. I told my editor ‘This
book is for anybody with a dysfunctional family,’ and she said, ‘I love that,
because that’s everybody.’ Too true! So I guess there’s nobody else I could
be. I’ll keep my dysfunctional life as it
is—it seems to be getting better all the time, anyway.

What did you do on your last birthday?

Oh, last birthday my
boyfriend and I flew out to Columbus, Ohio to see some of my relatives and a
few old friends. It was quite a trip, considering my fear of flying, but more
than worthwhile.

What part of the writing process do you dread?

I don’t know if there’s
any one part, but by the time I’ve been through about three rounds of editing
with any one novel, I definitely start to dread the thought of going through it
again! But my writing process often requires seven total passes between myself
and my editor, so I have to get over it and just do it.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you
do about it?

This past few years I’ve
discovered that writer’s block means I’m not reading enough, or not reading the
‘right things’ to help me work out my problems with the WIP. I’ve learned to
step back, re-evaluate where I’m at with my reading, and maybe even start a new
book that jives better with the project I’m working on. Eventually, something
will click.

Tell us about your latest release.

The Hierophant’s Daughter is Book I in THE DISGRACED MARTYR TRILOGY. In the first book of this cyberpunk
horror series, General Dominia di Mephitoli flees the country of her Father,
the Hierophant, in search of the means to resurrect her wife—but, as Dominia is
one of the many flesh-eating, genetically engineered humans called ‘martyrs’,
she first has to overcome humanity’s fear of her, and her own prejudices about
humanity. The book is full of twists and turns, evil villains, and the most
diverse cast of characters I’ve ever created. I hope it inspires readers who
used to love YA to try something more mature, and I hope it inspires adult sci-fi/fantasy
fans to pursue more books with protagonists which fall out of the archetype of
the middle-aged man. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but when I read
Dominia’s journey it feels very fresh to me even though it uses tried-and-true
tropes. Straight people have had badass generals and sapient animal companions
in their fiction for years—let the LGBTQ community have a turn!